The Friday 56 (51) The Marvels by Brian Selznick

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

The quote comes from page 392 since 56 is an illustration.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Two seemingly unrelated stories--one in words, the other in pictures--come together. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries...

"Joseph was lost. Somewhere far away the headlights of a car swept through the snowy night. He stopped to rest beneath a low passageway of an ancient cobblestone street."--The Marvels by Brian Selznick


What are you reading this week?

Review: Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

Title:Dead Is the New Black
Author: Marlene Perez
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
More Details: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publisher/Publication Date: HMH Books for Young Readers, September 1, 2008
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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the pyschic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style. Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad...

It has been a long time since I picked up a book by Marlene Perez. Honestly, I kind of forgot that I had this book. It wasn't until I went looking that I remembered I had the first two books of the series. Basically, Dead Is the New Black was a short and fun mystery novel with a supernatural twist, and I can see why I found the series appealing. The story revolves around Daisy Giordano, who lives in Nightshade, California, a place where the residents were less than ordinary, well, at least some of them anyway. This fact is made clear pretty early on with Daisy’s family, who all had identifiable psychic ability. This early setup established the tone of the story. Dead Is the New Black is a supernatural whodunit. The mystery was pretty good, but it was a little easy to see through. The clues were obvious, and the pieces clicked together early on. However, I still liked the book. The supernatural elements added some much need tension to the story. All in all, Dead Is the New Black was a pretty good book.

The Friday 56 (50): Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the pyschic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style. Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad...

"I gestured to my borrowed finery. "This isn't going to float off my back at midnight, is it?""--Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez

What are you reading this week?

Launch Blitz & Giveaway: Starflight by Melissa Landers

 

About the book...

Author: Melissa Landers

Release Date: February 2, 2016

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Synopsis from goodreads...

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

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A note from the author...

Hey there, booklovers! I’m author Melissa Landers, and I’m thrilled to announce the release of STARFLIGHT, the first in a brand new sci-fi series from Disney-Hyperion. I originally pitched this story to my editor as “Overboard” (one of my favorite romantic comedies) meets “Firefly” (an amazing show that was tragically cancelled after one season). STARFLIGHT follows the misadventures of Solara Brooks, a penniless felon who indentures herself to her high school nemesis, Doran Spaulding, in exchange for passage to a new world. But when Doran’s memory is temporarily erased, Solara convinces him their roles are reversed—that she’s the master and he’s the servant—and leads him onto a renegade spaceship, where intergalactic shenanigans ensue. STARFLIGHT is very different in tone from the Alienated trilogy, but the story is still filled with all the things I love: humor, heart, and adventure...

What do reviewers have to say?

“Get ready for blast-off! Action-packed and utterly addictive, nobody writes like Melissa Landers. A smart, satisfying romance set in a vividly detailed world, Starflight was just plain fun!” –New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman

“Teens will be bracing themselves during the swashbuckling action scenes. A great choice for fans of raw sci-fi action, reminiscent of the lawlessness presented in the television series Firefly.” –School Library Journal

“A lively tale of romance, space pirates, conspiracy, and made (as opposed to genetic) families.” –Booklist 

To celebrate Starflight's release, Melissa Landers is offering one lucky winner a STARFLIGHT swag pack, complete with custom nail wraps, bookmarks, and a mini poster! This giveaway is open internationally. Due to sweepstakes laws, entrants must be 18 years or older to participate. Best of luck, and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.

Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Title: Wonderstruck
Author: Brian Selznick
Source/Format: Won, Hardcover
More Details: Middle Grade, Historical
Publisher/Publication Date: Scholastic Press, September 13, 2011

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Ben and Rose secretly wish for better lives. Ben longs for his unknown father. Rose scrapbooks a famous silent actress. When Ben finds clues and Rose reads enticing news, the children independently run to New York for what they are missing. Ben's story in words, Rose's in pictures, come together in deafness...

Wonderstruck was wonderful. This book, from start to finish, was absolutely fantastic. Selznick has done it again, perfectly crafting a story through words and pictures.

Unlike The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I went into Wonderstruck without really knowing what I was getting into. But, thanks to my lack of prior knowledge about the book, I was left with moments that I can only describe as surprising. As the synopsis indicates, this story is divided into two perspectives set fifty years apart. The first is Ben, whose story is told mostly through words. And the second is Rose, whose story is told through pictures. One of the main reasons I read Wonderstruck was to see how these two timelines would eventually meet.

I got what I was looking for and then some.

Ben was a wonderful character. His reactions to situations were believable, and really, all I wanted to see was for him to get a happy ending—he went through a lot in a short amount of time, and that’s where the story begins. Ben is adjusting to changes in his life, mainly concerning his family. Rose was also wonderful. Although her story was told through pictures, the images captured her emotion and story so well that words weren’t really needed to tell it. Ben and Rose were great characters, and I enjoyed reading their story.

So, Wonderstruck was great. I have one more unread book by Selznick sitting on my shelf, and I plan to read it soon.